The 585th film I have seen in theaters…

Spoilers below

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Arthur Fleck, “The Joker” is in prison for his Gotham murder spree. While awaiting trial he meets Lee, a woman who is obsessed with him and his “Joker” persona. Will he get the death penalty? Find out, as we sit through this courtroom drama with musical interludes.

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Phoenix returns as Fleck. Lady Gaga is “Harley”. He was good, continuing his work from the first. Gaga is a great singer, and that was utilized here. As for the rest…

This was not necessary, and I am frankly shocked at how mediocre it was. When I first heard that they were doing a musical sequel to 2019’s Joker I was excited. I saw the possibilities of doing something so daring and different. What we got was “meh”. The musical numbers did not add very much to the picture. Only one seemed to have any direct input, where Fleck realizes that Lee is taking the spotlight away from him. The rest was just ok. I enjoy Gaga, so I had no issues with her singing, but she had ZERO character development. Zero. Wasted opportunity. I’d have rather seen a sequel with her as the protagonist, having the song and dance be HER delusion.

The original film is one that spoke to a specific audience: disaffected men. It struck an “incel” chord and had something to say about society, class, mental illness. This felt like, not an apology for that first film, but a clarification. I sense the filmmakers realized that Fleck had become idolized by fans rather than despised, and wanted to correct that viewpoint. A similar thing happened with Dune, causing Herbert to write “Messiah” to make it clear what he intended. This is not as successful. Some feel that this movie actually doubles down on the misogyny, as Lee is the predator who is using Arthur, but I am not truly sold on that interpretation. Not the worst movie of the year, and it has its charms, but far from the heights of the original.

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4/10

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